Last weekend in Ferguson, Missouri, a police officer fatally shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, sparking riots and protests in the St. Louis suburb.

Following the event, several media outlets began using a particular photo of Brown that appeared to show him holding up a gang sign. The photo immediately triggered backlash from social media users, resulting in the creation of the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown on both Twitter and Instagram. Under the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, users post contrasting photos of themselves and ask which one would be used by the media if they, too, were shot down.

The movement is a result of the media’s consistently biased portrayal of victims in the black community. During the trial of OJ Simpson in 1994, Simpson’s mugshot graced the covers of TIME and Newsweek. However, TIME was blasted for racism after using a darkened image to make the photo appear more sinister. Earlier this year, AP ran a tweet following the trial of 19-year-old African American Renisha McBride that read: “Suburban Detroit homeowner convicted of second-degree murder for killing woman who showed up drunk on porch.” This framing of a second-degree murder case as if it was a story about a drunk instantly resulted in outrage from black Twitter towards the news outlet.   

#IfTheyGunnedMeDown has gone viral in the wake of this tragedy. It is a movement that questions whether young black Americans have the freedom to live their lives online like anyone else, without fears of the media one day using a juvenile photograph or mistake to define them forever. The Ferguson incident is not just the shooting of one black teenager, but a much larger social issue that shows the complexity of the conversation, about how the media represents people of color. The media twists stories like these to follow the traditional tale of the “law enforcement hero” and the “criminal black man,” and movements like “IfTheyGunnedMeDown are a direct response to these inaccurate portrayals. The Michael Brown story has spread like wildfire across news outlets in the nation, but the case if far from unique. According to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, every 28 hours a black person is killed extra-judicially by a police officer, security guard, or “self-appointed vigilante.” However, the story of Michael Brown and the public’s response is different and hopefully foreshadowing of permanent change.   

The #IfTheyGunnedMeDown Movement is a reflection of how, in this case, it is not the media driving the story, but the public driving the story through their own social media. This movement, along with other hashtag campaigns that arise in response to controversial events, have proven that mainstream media is no longer the only platform for Americans to get their news. Where the mainstream media lacks in providing multiple perspectives on a topic, social media is abundant in beliefs and opinions about subjects. Ironically, mainstream media has given high praise to the movement. ABC News called the campaign “powerful,” and TIME has said it to be a “simple, ingenious DIY form of media criticism.” Although the media is quick to compliment this criticism of their methods, the real success of #IfTheyGunnedMeDown will be reflected in how future stories involving members of the black community will be portrayed.